Evan Dunham controls Ross Pearson for three rounds to win decision
Evan Dunham dominated the first two rounds of his UFC Fight Night co-main event bout against Ross Pearson on Saturday night. Then, he grinded for the final five minutes to stay safe and earn a unanimous decision win.
Scores were 30-27 (twice) and 29-28 for Dunham. The American improved his record to 16-6 with the win, and Pearson's mark dropped to 19-9.
"Ross he's a tough dude. He hits hard. I'd be dumb to play into his game," Dunham said afterwards.
"I've been in this game a long time, so I played it smart and went to the ground."
The fight started with Pearson landing overhand right punches to the head. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Dunham then decided to work to the mat and scored two takedowns.
After the second one, Dunham worked his way to the back mount and then an arm bar. Dunham completely straightened out Pearson's arm in a painful looking lock.
Pearson hung on, refused to tap and escaped with under thirty seconds left in the round. Dunham started the second round with a quick takedown and rode Pearson on the ground for several minutes before taking back control once more.
The fight stayed there and the round ended with Dunham on Pearson's back. In the final round, Dunham continued to press for takedowns, but he didn't get one until the final second of the round, or perhaps even one second after the fight ended.
Despite having his attempts defended well for five straight minutes, Dunham kept Pearson on the defensive for the final round and solidified his win. The win is Dunham's second straight.
